Chapter 69.2

On the treacherous Folia Mountain Road, Mi Ao's team clung to the ground in disarray, their limbs tangled and their bodies bruised.

They desperately gripped any rocks or edges they could find, their knuckles white with strain. The wind howled around them, and the rain beat down on their faces, but they dared not move.

One wrong move, and they would be sent plummeting to their deaths.

What startled Mi Ao into urgent action was a sudden gust of wind, carrying ice and snow debris as if summoned by a massive white dragon.

It spun towards them at an alarming speed, surging up the mountain road in an instant.

The already-inclined mountain road twisted away, as if it were a living thing, and the gusts of wind bombarded the vultures like a volley of arrows.

The piercing cries and whinnies of the vultures were drowned out by the howling wind, its banshee wail instilling fear in everyone's hearts.

The wind whipped up the sand and dust, creating a blinding storm that obscured the horizon.

Those who weren't strong enough or failed to maintain a firm grip were swept away by the wind, their screams lost in the chaos.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh——"

Countless fingers were shredded by jagged rocks, the sharp edges embedding themselves into flesh and drawing blood instantly.

It was a fight for survival.

The dragon-like storm swept across Folia Mountain Road like a raging beast, its thunderous roar shaking the very earth.

It twisted and rolled towards another direction, leaving behind a trail of destruction.

But even as the storm dissipated, the danger was not over.

A familiar group of enemies followed in its wake, launching an attack on Mi Ao and his team before they could even regain their composure.

The enemies were relentless, their attacks coming in waves.

As these adversaries whizzed past, the friction created a rustling sound, creating a momentary illusion of silence in the world, leaving one with a solitary feeling.

They were sand ghosts.

Mi Ao spat on the ground, his voice hoarse as he harshly declared, "He won't escape trouble today, damn his master! Brothers, let's go!!"

In a time long past, there were beings neither human nor ghost, known as sand ghosts. They were creatures of the desert, made of sand and wind, and they feared humidity above all else.

In the rainy season, the sand ghosts would rarely venture out. They would stay hidden in their old nests, deep in the dunes, where the rain and moisture could not reach them.

The sand ghosts were a mystery to humans. Some said they were the spirits of the desert.

However, their resistance to humidity seemed to have heightened. Even with the rainy season ending, a light rain wouldn't hinder them much. They had become nearly unstoppable.

The sounds of fighting and desperate screams served as an outlet. When faced with constant brushes with death and a seemingly never-ending barrage of troubles, exhaustion, irritability, and anger took hold of anyone.

Both Mi Ao and the rest of the team were on the brink of despair. Against such a large number of sand ghosts, an army of tens of thousands would struggle, let alone them.

Exhaustion, irritability, and anger were all too common emotions in this world. The constant brushes with death and the seemingly never-ending barrage of troubles took their toll on everyone.

But since their fate was sealed, they would rather fight one by one, momentarily halting the sand ghosts' advance, and buying time for others to escape.

They fought, they screamed, and they cursed. They gave voice to their pain and frustration, and in doing so, they found a measure of release.

A chaotic melee ensued on the narrow mountain road, where metal clashed with sand and stone.

When a person embraces the will to die, fear dissipates, replaced with a strength that seems foreign even to oneself.

The sand ghosts appeared taken aback by this desperate fighting style they had never encountered before, causing their offensive to momentarily slow down, seemingly "shocked."

Mi Ao's eyes were bloodshot, and he could not see the shock in the sand ghost's eyes.

The Sand Ghost Clan were a race of fighting machines, cold and numb, without any emotions. They were not even flesh and blood creatures, let alone human beings.

So how could something without flesh and blood be shocked?

The answer is that they could not. The Sand Ghost Clan were machines, and machines do not have emotions. They cannot feel shock, fear, or any other emotion.

They are simply programmed to follow their orders, and they do not have the capacity to experience anything beyond that.

This makes the Sand Ghost Clan a particularly dangerous enemy. They are not susceptible to the same emotional manipulations that can be used against flesh and blood creatures.

They are also not afraid of death, as they do not have a concept of self-preservation. This makes them incredibly difficult to defeat.

"Why do such bastards like you appear in this world!" Mi Ao shouted as he blocked a wave of gravel with his armor.

He then raised his sword and plunged it into the sand ghost's heart. The creature let out a shrill scream, then its body began to crumble.

Mi Ao shielded his face from the sand as the ghost dissipated into a pool of loose sand. He had no time to rest, however, as he drew his sword and charged forward to face the next threat.

A mere 10,000 souls stood defiantly against the sand ghosts' assault on the mountain path. They knew they were outnumbered and outgunned, but they did not care.

They didn't know how long they could last, but they didn't care.

For every sand ghost they killed, they gained a measure of hope.

The entire team looked like a long knife pierced into the wind and sand, with Mi Ao and the others at the sharpest point.

And the tip of the knife was always about to see blood.